It was Carolina’s fourth consecutive victory as the offense continued to find its stride, despite a somewhat inconsistent performance by quarterback Cam Newton, and the defense again demonstrated why it’s one of the best in the league.

The Panthers improved to 5-3 and 2-0 in the NFC South after beginning the season 0-2. New Orleans’ loss on Sunday leaves the Panthers one game behind the Saints in the division standings.

Atlanta, a team many considered a Super Bowl contender heading into the season, continued its downward spiral. The injury-riddled Falcons dropped to 2-6.

The victory was Carolina’s fifth in six games and has added relevancy to a team that several weeks ago hardly registered a blip on the NFL radar.

“We feel more relevant. Fans and the media are talking about us,” Carolina cornerback Captain Munnerlyn said. “We don’t want to be a pushover. We want people to know if they come into this stadium they’ll be in for a fight.”

The game was a study in contrasting halves.

Carolina led 14-10 at halftime, but didn’t play all that well. Newton threw high on several passes and was intercepted twice and sacked once. The Panthers’ running game, the eighth-best in the NFL, accounted for 26 yards. That changed in the second half.

“We didn’t start where we wanted to start, but I think more excitement came in the second half,” Newton said. “We’re always in it together — offensively, defensively and special teams. With a great return to kick start one drive, as well as our defense playing lights out, getting a couple of interceptions, and offensively finishing at the end, we are in it together.”

Carolina coach Ron Rivera said his team did some good things in the first half, but there were aspects of the offense that needed to be shored up. He was pleased with his team’s second-half play on both sides of the ball.

“We had some energy (in the second half). We went down and kicked a field goal,” he said. “We made a couple of plays on the defensive side and the offense made some really nice things happen for us. Defensively, we had some really big takeaways. What we did in the second half is what we’re capable of.”

The Panthers took the second half kickoff and scored on Graham Gano’s 55-yard field goal. It was the first barrage of a 20-point second-half scoring outburst.

Newton scored on an 8-yard run with nine minutes left in the fourth quarter. Ten seconds later, Drayton Florence picked off a Matt Ryan pass and returned it 38 yards for a touchdown and a 31-10 margin. Gano’s field goal of 20 yards closed the scoring.

Atlanta had success going to tight end Tony Gonzalez in the opening half, but Carolina took away that option after halftime.

“They got into some different coverages in the second half that kind of catered toward what Tony was doing,” Ryan said. “We had some opportunities with some one-on-ones in other spots and just didn’t it done.”

Carolina linebacker Luke Kuechly, whose first-quarter interception led to a 7-0 lead, said the second-half adjustments on Gonzalez were a matter of knowing where the veteran was and where he intended to go on pass routes.

“Tony Gonzalez and Harry Douglas were the guys they were going to so we had to know where they were and be prepared for that,” said Kuechly, who led Carolina with eight tackles. “We needed to know where Gonzalez was. That was probably the biggest thing.”

The Panthers ran for 131 yards spread among four players. Jonathan Stewart, in his first game of the season since recovering from ankle surgery, led the Panthers with 43 rushing yards. DeAngelo Williams added 42, Mike Tolbert had 24 and Newton supplied 22.

“It was good to get back with the fellas,” Stewart said. “I spent a lot of time off, and I’m overdue.”

Carolina linebacker Thomas Davis was second to Kuechly in tackles with seven. In all, 18 players made tackles — further testimony to the Panthers’ joint effort toward winning games.

“This is a collective effort each game,” tight end Greg Olsen said. “It’s different guys chipping in and doing their job, and in the long run I feel that’s better off.”

Panthers 34, Falcons 10

Why Carolina won:Carolina’s balanced offense, its red-zone efficiency and a defense which had three interceptions — one for a touchdown — overpowered the struggling Falcons.

Turning point:After an interception deep in Atlanta territory killed a drive just before halftime, the Panthers responded by taking the second-half kickoff to score a field goal for a 17-10 lead — the first of 20 second-half points.

Key statistic: Carolina had a 21:09 to 9:51 edge in time of possession in the second half.

Notable quote: “To get those points after the half was huge. That made it 17-10 and we never looked back.” — Carolina tight end Greg Olsen.